Elementary School Principal

FLSA Status: Exempt

Reports To: Superintendent

Supervises: All School Personnel

Employment Terms: 12-Month Full-time Position (260 Contracted Days)

Grade: 23

Position Summary

Under the direction of the Superintendent of Schools, the Elementary Principal manages the operation and educational programs of the elementary school, including supervising teachers and other staff and evaluating and pursuing related programs.  

Qualification Requirements

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential function satisfactorily. The requirements and qualifications below represent the required knowledge, skill, and/or ability. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

1. Supervises licensed and non-licensed staff, including providing for performance evaluation and staff development. 

• Recruits, interviews, and recommends staff for employment.
• Engages faculty and others to plan and participate in recruitment and development.
• Develops and evaluates the performance of staff. 
• Provide feedback on performance and arrange for remedial assistance.
• Provide work assignments to staff and direct their activities. 
• Mobilizes the appropriate staff to create an appropriate instructional and learning environment. 
• Works with faculty and staff to identify staff development needs; then plans, organizes, and facilitates programs to improve effectiveness consistent with organizational goals and needs. 
• Initiates self-development. 
• Ensures regular and interagency staff training on collaboration, teaming, consulting, and conflict resolution skills.  

2. Administers various elementary school education programs, including measurement and evaluation.  

• Creates a school culture for learning; envisions and enables instructional and auxiliary programs; plans programs. 
• Coordinates with other school programs. 
• Develops policies and procedures to facilitate the delivery of programs, student discipline, and parent and public relations. 
• Provides for student guidance programs and auxiliary services. 
• Utilizes community organizations in response to family needs. 
• Enlists others to design and conduct programs connecting with life readiness. 
• Plans comprehensive student activities.
• Determines needed diagnostic information about students, staff, and the environment. 
• Examines outcomes related to standards, goals, and priorities. 
• Draw inferences for program revision. 
• Interprets measurements and evaluation. 
• Relates programs to outcomes. 
• Develops equivalent measurements of competence and design accountability mechanisms. 

3. Directs the elementary school special education program.  

•  Coordinates the special education program with the regular education program.  

4. Plans and directs district-wide programs.  

• Manages the Title I early childhood education program, if applicable. 
• Manages the homeless assistance programs. 
• Manages the Kindergarten registration. 
• Manages the English language learning program. 
• Supports preschool programming. 
• Manages the new teacher orientation program. 

5. Manages the school’s budget and facilities.

• Plans and develops the budget process with appropriate staff; prepares recommendations and maintains the approved budget. 
• Selects and purchases materials. 
• Supervises the maintenance of the physical plant by observing and reviewing reports of problems, assessing needs, and directing maintenance and repair activities. 
• Procures, apportions, monitors, accounts for, and evaluates the fiscal, human, and time resources needed to reach outcomes that reflect the needs or goals of the school.

6. Evaluate educational programs and plan curriculum.  

• Analyzes the results of the testing programs. 
• Monitors individual student progress through unique staffing. 
• Collaborates with other district administrators in assessing and recommending district programs and services. 
• Initiates needs analysis and, with the staff, plans and implements a framework for curriculum. 
• Aligns curriculum and outcomes. 
• Monitors social and technological developments, including youth service, regarding curriculum. 
• Solicits input from families, businesses, parents, and the public regarding curriculum. 
• Adjust curriculum as needed.  

7. Performs any other related duties as assigned by the Superintendent or appropriate administrator.

Skills Required

1. Leadership includes providing purpose and direction for groups and individuals, facilitating the development of a shared vision for the school, and formulating goals and planning changes with the staff by setting priorities for the community, the district, staff, and students.
2. Information collection, including gathering facts and data, seeking knowledge of policies, rules, laws, precedents, and practices, managing data flow, and classifying and organizing information for decision-making and monitoring.
3. Problem analysis includes analyzing information, framing issues and identifying causes, seeking additional information, framing and reframing possible solutions, demonstrating conceptual flexibility, and assisting others in forming opinions.
4. Judgment includes the ability to formulate logical conclusions from quality and timely decisions, adaptability, and the ability to prioritize. 
5. Organizational oversight includes scheduling work to use resources appropriately to meet goals, scheduling activity flow, and monitoring procedures to regulate activities and project deadlines.
6. Implementation includes putting programs into action, facilitating coordination and collaboration of tasks, establishing checkpoints and monitoring progress, providing corrections when required, and supporting those responsible.
7. Delegation of authority, including assigning tasks so they can be accomplished in a timely and appropriate manner, utilizing subordinates appropriately, and following up on work tasks. 
8. Ability to accommodate cognition and achievement differences. 
9. Written and oral communications. 

Knowledge  and Abilities

1. Instructional and educational theories, trends, strategies, principles, and practices.  
2. Supervisory and management theory, principles, and techniques. 
3.  District procedures and policies governing building administration and management.  
4. Policies, procedures, rules, and guidelines of school budget preparation.  
5. Child development theories, principles, and concepts.  
6. School cultures and values.  
7. Knowledge of major curriculum models, especially those related to interpreting district curriculum.  
8. Principles and fundamentals of public relations and public involvement.

Qualifications, Education, and Experience

1. Hold a valid Virginia Department of Education teacher’s license with endorsements in administration and supervision preK-12.
2. A Master's degree with coursework in education administration or a related field is required.
3. A minimum of five (5) years as a successful teacher is required.
4. A minimum of five (5) years as a successful administrator is required; elementary experience is needed.

Physical Requirements

1. This work requires frequent exertion of up to 10 pounds of force and occasional exertion of up to 25 pounds.
2. Work regularly requires speaking or hearing and repetitive motions, frequently requires sitting, using hands to finger, handle or feel and reaching with hands and arms, and occasionally requires standing, walking, climbing or balancing, stooping, kneeling, crouching or crawling, tasting or smelling, pushing or pulling and lifting.
3. Work requires close vision, distance vision, depth perception, color perception, and peripheral vision.
4. Vocal communication is required to express or exchange ideas through the spoken word and convey detailed or important instructions to others accurately, loudly, or quickly.
5. Hearing is required to perceive information at normal spoken word levels, receive detailed information through oral communications, and make fine sound distinctions.
6. Work requires preparing and analyzing written or computer data, visual inspection of minor defects and/or small parts, and observing general surroundings and activities.
7. Work occasionally requires exposure to outdoor weather conditions and bloodborne pathogens, and may be required to wear specialized personal protective equipment.
8. Work is generally in a moderately noisy location (e.g. business office, light traffic).
9. Must be mobile enough to travel and monitor all aspects of the school program within the area of assignment.

Special Requirements

1. Possession of or ability to acquire appropriate license(s), certificate(s), and endorsement(s) for the position as required by the Commonwealth of Virginia or School Board.
2. The operation of division-owned/leased motor vehicles may be required; therefore, the incumbent’s driving record will be subject to periodic review and must be acceptable by the provisions of the Dinwiddie County School Board’s policy manual. 
3. All candidates must successfully undergo the following pre-employment screenings:
1. Tuberculosis Screening
2. Child Protective Services (CPS) Investigation
3. State Police Criminal History Investigation
4. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)/National Criminal History Investigative Search

Evaluation

Performance of this position will be evaluated by the provisions of the Dinwiddie County School Board’s policy manual.

Equal Opportunity Employer Statement

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, Dinwiddie County Public Schools does not discriminate against applicants based on race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, political affiliation, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, age, marital status, genetic information, disability or protected veteran status.  

We will recruit and select applicants for employment solely based on their qualifications. Our guidelines and practices, including those relating to wages, benefits, transfers, promotions, terminations, and self-development opportunities, will also be administered without regard to race, color, religion, sex/sexual orientation, gender/gender identity, age, marital status, genetic information, national origin, ancestry, political affiliation, disability, protected veteran status and all other classes protected by the Federal and State Law. Dinwiddie County Public Schools is an Alcohol and Drug-Free Workplace.